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Ex-Air Force sgt. imprisoned for bribery scheme

Posted at 5:55 AM, Feb 01, 2016
and last updated 2016-02-01 05:55:41-05

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — A former Air Force master sergeant is doing prison time for cheating on taxes and accepting $263,000 in bribes for fixing government contracts for a South Florida company.

A federal judge recently sentenced Trevor Smith to 18 months in prison. Court documents show Smith was deployed in Afghanistan in 2009 and 2010 as a procurement officer. Smith admitted accepting the kickbacks from Broward County-based Simplex Corp. for leaking confidential bid information about leasing Russian aircraft for training purposes.

Prosecutors say Smith was to get 2 percent of the value of Simplex's contracts.

Simplex executive Maxim Silinsky previously pleaded guilty and is awaiting sentencing Tuesday in Fort Lauderdale federal court. A third man who worked as a federal contractor in Alabama also pleaded guilty and is set for sentencing in February